I was so inspired by today's episode i had to write this. wowsuchtalent.

Feel no shame about our baitWe never change our waysEven mother will gouge her eyes out for daysSo put your glasses on Everything will be wrong There's blame, there's no fameIts up to you, the first episode should be finedWhatever holds us backWe can't, We can't get it right

Basically, I don't think the rush to get to the Conviction arc excuses everything that was wrong here. I think the writing is on the wall that these guys aren't very good at their job, and that more important story elements will be cut or changed going forward, resulting in a mess. Time will tell.

Even that's being too kind. It was nice for about 30 seconds, getting to see the HICKS, Schierke, and Flora(!), but then it immediately sticks the plot in a blender and gives us Robo-Guts action figure action that's an unmitigated disaster in every way. Worse than my lowest expectations and I was already expecting that. It's like a cross between South Park and mid-2000's Flash videos written by monkeys. This abortion is DOA.

Though I did get a kick out of the Seinfeldesque theme when we see Guts eating in the woods. It's like his diner! Maybe this is a nightmare comedy like Tim & Eric or The Eric Andre Show. Berserk Anime, a Cinco product.

You mean they correlate. I can't wait to see how the quality of Berserk adaptations continues to evolve:

After all the recent clusterfuck of Berserk anime since 2012, what if Trey Parker and Matt Stone had adapted the Berserk manga in their own South Park-like cutout cartoon style? Yep, their Berserk adaption would still come out on top But speaking of evolving animated adaptation quality, forget Parker and Stone for a second, Griff. Suppose Don Hertzfeldt wanted to have a go at Berserk?

What would Guts and Co. look like, if rendered in Bitter Films-style animation?

First episode was complete trash in my opinion.I came in with low expectations and I assumed they'd be leaving a lot out, but I thought the way in which they actually went about doing it was careless. I really can't think of anything specific that I liked about the episode. Not the opening, music, colors, animation, sound effects, pacing; nothing.I'm hoping that future episodes will be a bit better now that they've set the pace and gotten the so-called introductory episode over with.

Maybe I'm just being overly critical. I'll rewatch it again in a few days and see if my opinion differs but I doubt it will. As for the series as a whole, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what becomes of it with the release of future episodes.

There's something so twisted about seeing the series praised in the form of this perversion. I mean, it's a lie and a shame that this represents Berserk to the unwitting world now. It just keeps getting worse.

Well at least it can't be worse .To be honest we already knew they were going to ruin the first episodes lets see if the arc they have planned to show is at least decent.

Hey, don't jinx it. Hmmm, on second thought, jinx away. A (large) part of me would like to see this get cancelled. One, to send a message to every studio exec out there that this level of quality and disrespect is not acceptable, for Berserk or any series. And two, to prove to every apologist that the removals, changes, and cut corners that were made were never justifiable, no matter how much they defended them because of...reasons similar to a psychological phenomenon named after a certain city in Sweden.

What are people seeing in this? Is there something I (and I suppose nearly everyone else here) am missing? Is pacing no longer an important quality to storytelling? Is telling a coherent story that makes sense at all a thing of the past? I don't know how anyone who's unfamiliar with the source material could understand what in Frith's name is fucking going on in this episode due to how haphazardly it was cut together.

Then again, that hack at Kotaku clearly doesn't know what she's talking about. The second she calls Berserk a shonen should be your cue to hit the "back" button.

Just imagine what someone who's never read the series and is watching this as their first Berserk experience is going to think. Why are the Holy Iron Chain Knights pursuing Guts? What are Apostles? Beherit? God Hand? This series makes no sense!

I'm just glad that the changes are clumsy as opposed to horrifyingly bastardised which was what I was expecting from the various comments.

I wish they had just done Black Swordsman and Lost Children, that way it'll be more accessible to new viewers and be more faithful to the story. Conviction is good but most of it matters more in the larger picture; a series with episodic adventures of Black Swordsman Guts would have made for a fascinating adaptation, plus the art is kind of shoddy in the first few volumes anyway.

Again, I'm in the minority here (haha), but I enjoyed the episode! I found the art style and shading to be really cool actually, and I stated several posts back that I didn't like the way they looked in the trailer. But seeing it in the context of the entire episode, I felt it made the show look really unique with a slight old school vibe. As for the CG elements, in the same way, it gave the show a different a unique look, and I think it worked well in certain scenes, especially with super natural elements.

I also thought they did a great job with capturing Puck's image and personality. The voice actor did a terrific job imo. I laughed at all the funny Puck moments, and then got all emotional during the more somber parts. It was cool to finally see!

The pacing felt fast, but not too fast. I'll have to revisit this though, as the series runs on. I think it was a good establishing episode.

Lastly, the music. Susumu Hirasawa all day every day for me. So naturally, I wasn't too crazy about some of the music cues. But it didn't distract me, for which I'm glad. I remember during the Eclipse / Casca scene in movie 3 of the trilogy... there was this intense piano solo that came in that was just too much for me. That took me out of the moment and I wish they could have just kept it alone during that crucial scene. Fortunately, the soundtrack in ep 1 didn't botch any scenes for me. On the flip side, it didn't add much either, so I'm hoping this is something that the show will improve on in future eps.

Are we going to be posting all future episode discussion in this one thread? Because I propose a separate thread for each episode as they get released.

Can't add my two cents because i haven't found a way to watch it yet, Crunchyroll skipped my country. Picked up Game of Thrones instead, and reading through these reactions i think i think that may have been the right choice.

With all the bad reviews I've read, I can't wait to watch this piece of shit...Everything I've seen so far doesn't retranscribe what Berserk is.

Edit: Ok... I've just finished watching this "thing". It looks bad on so many levels that I don't understand why some people actually find that "enjoyable". Guts (that face and those robot movements)... The depiction of Kenshiro instead of Guts (same feeling as Puella)... Puck looks (thanks to the CG) and sounds dumb... everything is exagerated, the tree, the musics, the events compressed and butchered, etc... I could add many more things. To be honest, it makes me want to insult the producers directly on their Twitter.If I was a newcomer, this episode wouldn't makes me want to watch the next ones and read the manga.

@VengeanceQuest982 Chibi got it right and IGN (a good enough site actually) is 100% incapable of critiquing anime. So is the current staff of ANN but the comment section is tearing it apart, even i wrote 2 comments. The anime was so bad that i had trouble falling asleep last night. This is how i felt while reflecting on the "pilot":Berserk 2016 robbed me sleep! I have read Berserk hentai by Kuon Michiyoshi that is better than ep.1... Here are my 3 hours of tossing in my bed summed up: "Berserk 2016 is worse than porn".

If you're reading Kotaku to begin with, you've already lost. Given that their coverage of video game news is already terrible, it's no surprise whatever review they have of this adaptation is without legitimacy or critical thought.

Can't add my two cents because i haven't found a way to watch it yet, Crunchyroll skipped my country. Picked up Game of Thrones instead, and reading through these reactions i think i think that may have been the right choice.

There's probably a VPN solution that would allow you to watch it anyway. Up to you to decide whether it's worth it.

Can't wait for the eventual click-bait articles relating to the first episode premiere.

"YOU WON'T BELIEVE HOW OVER-THE-TOP THIS JAPANESE ANIME CARTOON GETS IN JUST 5 MINUTES. WOW. ONE SECRET THAT ANIMATORS DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT"

I'm calling it.

Logged

"If I could strike one blow to spite their force, though I might bear one hundred more, I would wear the welts like rubies, and the shackles for a crown. And if I had one hundred hearts I would throw them all before their bullets before I'd sell a single one to wield their power. So lest we fall out of love with life, let us give all we have to give - for only a fool would cling to this world."

The only review anyone should trust is this:The 1997 show is very respectable, all things considered, and managed to advertise the manga very well. Why did Berserk adaptions peak 19 years go?I am off to write my "glowing" Imdb review, to accompany my entry for the films. Edit: The anime doesn´t have a page, as of now, but i will check daily.

There's something so twisted about seeing the series praised in the form of this perversion. I mean, it's a lie and a shame that this represents Berserk to the unwitting world now. It just keeps getting worse.

What is truly shameful is that Miura has his name attached to this travesty. He was a script supervisor (if i recall correctly) on the 97 anime, and that came out pretty good. He distanced himself from the movies, and those were unwatchable. So why is he involved this time? He's even promoting it. His role is most likely very small, but if he's attached, i bet he at least saw some form of a script(s). That makes his complicity very disappointing. He should've just Alan Moore'd all over this garbage.